Pompeii and the Roman Villa

Narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi - star of the landmark television series "I, Claudius" - this documentary explores art and culture around the Bay of Naples before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. The bay was then the most fashionable destination for vacationing Romans. Julius Caesar, emperors, and senators were among those who owned sumptuous villas along its shores. Artists flocked to the region to create frescoes, sculpture, and luxurious objects in gold, silver, and glass for villa owners as well as residents of Pompeii and other towns in the shadow of Vesuvius. The film concludes with the story of the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum from the 18th century onward.

2008-10-19 | en

Peninsula

This documentary explores the tranquil history of Italian surfing along with the passion and dedication of the pioneers who shaped it.

2014-01-01 | it

Fascism in Colour

After the World War I, Mussolini's perspective on life is severely altered; once a willful socialist reformer, now obsessed with the idea of power, he founds the National Fascist Party in 1921 and assumes political power in 1922, becoming the Duce, dictator of Italy. His success encourages Hitler to take power in Germany in 1933, opening the dark road to World War II. (Originally released as a two-part miniseries. Includes colorized archival footage.)

2006-01-01 | en

The Devil and Father Amorth

William Friedkin attends an exorcism with Father Gabriele Amorth, as he treats an Italian woman named Cristina for the ninth time. Prior to filming, Cristina had purportedly been experiencing behavioural changes and “fits” that could not be explained by psychiatry, and which became worse during Christian holidays.

2018-04-20 | en

The Real Beauty and the Beast

It's a condition known as "hypertrichosis" or "Ambras Syndrome," but in the 1500s it would transform one man into a national sensation and iconic fairy-tale character. His name: Petrus Gonsalvus, more commonly known today as the hairy hero of Beauty and the Beast.

2013-06-14 | en

Masters of Mayhem

For decades Italian genre cinema dominated the world and before changing beyond recognition it went to unthinkable places. Giants don't die quietly however and this is the story of an industry's most absurd, extreme, blood-soaked fight for survival. Through dozens of brand new interviews, and never-before-seen archival materials, with the men and women who were there during one of the most unique moments in film history, MASTERS OF MAYHEM tells their stories of scandal, contradictions, drama and outrage.

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Gary Lineker: My Grandad's War

Presenter and former England football captain Gary Lineker follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, Stanley Abbs, to explore a brutal but often overlooked chapter of World War Two.

2019-11-11 | en

Happy Winter

Every summer on Mondello Beach in Palermo, more than a thousand cabins are erected to house the same number of groups of bathers who will spend the season in them. For these people the “huts” are the perfect setting in which to hide behind the memory of a social status that the crisis of recent years has undermined. A family gets into debt to go on a seaside vacation and to look well-off among the bathers, three women sunbathe in order to feel as if they are still young and to become the stars of the summer, while on the same beach a barman thinks about earning as much money as possible to get through the winter. Everyone is waiting for the night of August 15 to play a leading role in the summer Vanity Fair and to keep on pretending that the economic crisis doesn’t exist.

2018-03-15 | it

Personale

Folding towels, straightening out sheets, taking bathrobes out of the dryer, stripping beds, cleaning up vomit. Fluffing pillows—making a dent for elegantly turned-up corners—and endless scrubbing, cleaning and clearing up messes. Behind the scenes of a hotel in the Italian Dolomites, the staff do everything they can to serve the guests and prevent complaints. The hotel has four stars, and a fifth is in sight.

2024-11-15 | it

La trattativa

What are we talking about when we talk about negotiations? About the state's concessions to the Mafia in exchange for ending the massacres? About who assassinated Falcone and Borsellino? Of the eternal coexistence between the Mafia and politics? Between the mafia and the church? Between the Mafia and law enforcement? Or is there more? A group of actors enacts the most relevant episodes of the affair known as the Mafia-state negotiation, impersonating mobsters, secret service agents, high officials, magistrates, victims and murderers, Freemasons, honest and courageous people, and courageous people up to a point. Thus one of the most intricate events in our history becomes an exciting tale.

2014-10-02 | it

Once Upon a Time in Polizzi

The film follows Vincent Schiavelli as he returns to Polizzi Generosa, the very town in Sicily his grandparents emigrated from in 1901.

2005-10-11 | en

Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema

A documentary that uncovers the careers of a population of entertainers never heard from before: Black actors in Italian cinema. With modern day interviews and archival footage, the documentary discloses the personal struggles and triumphs that classic Afro-Italian, African-American and Afro-descendant actors faced in the Italian film industry, while mirroring their struggles with those of contemporary actors who are working diligently to find respectable, significant, and non-stereotypical roles, but are often unable to do so. Blaxploitalian is more than an unveiling of a troubled history; it is a call-to-action for increased diversity in international cinema through the stories of these artists in an effort to reflect the modern and racially diverse Italy.

2016-06-08 | en

Notarangelo the Soul Hunter

David Griecos documentary showcases the underappreciated photography of Domenico Notarangelo, and through it, tells the story of Matera, it's people and it's history.

2019-05-03 | it

The Amanda Knox Saga

Amanda Knox served four years in an Italian prison for the murder of her British flatmate Meredith Kercher in Perugia in 2007, always insisting on her innocence. In 2011, she was acquitted on the basis of DNA evidence but prosecutors successfully appealed and her acquittal was struck down. In 2014 she was again found guilty in absentia after a retrial and sentenced to 28 years and six months in jail. The saga came to and end when Italy's highest court overturned the convictions of Ms Knox and her former boyfriend, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito in March 2015. Known burglar Rudy Guede was arrested a short time later following the discovery of his bloodstained fingerprints on Kercher's possessions. He was later found guilty of murder in a fast-track trial and is currently (as of 2019) serving a 16-year prison sentence.

2014-02-17 | en

Ferrari 312B

In a race against time and all odds, the revolutionary F1 racing car Ferrari 312B will get back on the Monaco circuit, 46 years later, under the wing of it’s creator, the genius engineer Mauro Forghieri.

2017-10-09 | it

Let’s Spend the Night Together: Confessions of Rock’s Greatest Groupies

A documentary about the groupie scene in the 1970s.

2010-12-13 | en

Look Away

Interviews from women involved in the 70's and 80's rock music industry. An examination of the people taking advantage of underage fans and calling for a "Me too" movement in the music world

2021-09-01 | en

S.B.: Io lo conoscevo bene

2013-02-05 | it

Visiting Italy

This TravelTalk short focuses on the ancient ruins in Rome, the leaning tower of Pisa, and the architecture in Florence, Italy.

1951-08-25 | en

Onde Nostre

Onde Nostre is a lifestyle documentary film that shows the peculiarity of the Italian surf scene and the beauty of this sport, even in a country that's not usually considered a top destination for catching waves. With this film we intend show the passion and high level of the Italian surfers. The film is shot mainly in 16mm and super 8 and only a small part is shot digital in order to emphasize the beauty of the landscape. The film has a romantic approach to surfing. Action has a great relevance, with slow motion segments and an emotional editing. Onde Nostre also shows Italian surfers lifestyles and the endless search for good waves in the Mediterranean sea.

2010-09-17 | en